~ Daria Hajioannou

What is a Chinese gong? It’s a large hanging percussion instrument that you strike with a stick or a beater for a wonderful, loud resonant sound that will definitely make anyone around you sit up and take notice.  In ancient China, it’s said that gongs called farmers in from the fields and some were so loud that they could be heard almost 50 miles away!

Supplies to Make Chinese Gong

• a metal, disposable roasting pan
• pipecleaners or yarn
• a cardboard tube from wrapping paper
• paint, stickers, glitter, glue, or textured paint for decorating the gong
• 12-18″ wooden dowel; electrical tape

Making the Chinese Gong

The first step to making your own gong is finding something that can be the large metal “dish.” My favorite choice for this is a disposable metal turkey roaster (available from any Dollar or grocery store). If you don’t have one available, you can try a large disposable metal cake pan or even smaller pie tins. But remember, the larger the pan, the better the sound.

Your next step is to make two holes in the top area of your metal pan – about 2 – 3 inches apart. Then, slip a pipecleaner through each hole and twist the ends together to form a circle. Now you have your hanging gong. But, what will it hang from? For an easy movable stand, take two chairs and set them about two to three feet apart, facing outward. On top of the chairs, place a cardboard tube from wrapping paper or a large stick or broomstick. Slip the handles of your gong onto the stick and it will hang down perfectly. Check out the below pictures to see how it works.

Would you like to decorate your gong? Make it fancy, funny, or ornate? You can add Chinese symbols or stickers, paint, glitter, and glue to make your own gong unique and special. After it’s dry, you can put it back in place, ready to be played.

Lastly, you’ll need a beater to strike the gong. Take a 12 or 18″ wooden dowel and wrap one side with electrical tape to form a head. That’s the side that will strike the gong.  If you don’t have a wooden dowel, you can substitute a wooden spoon, a chopstick, or an unsharpened pencil: just wrap the head the same way on the end that will strike the gong.

If you are interested in learning more about Daria’s Music, check out her web site, listen to her music with your children, or look for her in a concert near you. During her performances, she introduces unique, global, authentic instruments and allows the audience to take part in playing them – from Buffalo and Pueblo drums to shékeres, cajón, washboard, guiros, handbells, doumbek, chapchas and much more. In fact, she presents songs in a variety of languages including English, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, Zulu, German, Quechua Indian and Oneida (Iroquois).

Chinese New Year Math and Literacy! Check out all of our Lunar New Year Resources.

Available at the Kid World Citizen Teachers Pay Teachers Store, these units are an incredible collection of Common Core aligned reading, writing, math, and critical thinking activities, as well as craftivities and coloring sheets. Kids have fun doing word problems, scrambles, graphing, a maze- and they learn about Chinese culture. Go now! >